'''Wolfgang Krege''' ([[February 1]], [[1939]]- [[April 13]], [[2005]]) was a German author and translator. He translated several of [[J.R.R. Tolkien|Tolkien]]'s works to German.

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| name=Wolfgang Krege

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| born=[[1 February|February 1]], [[1939]]

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| died=[[13 April|April 13]], [[2005]]

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| education=

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| occupation=Translator, author

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'''Wolfgang Krege''' ([[1 February|February 1]], [[1939]] - [[13 April|April 13]], [[2005]]) was a German author and translator. He translated several of [[J.R.R. Tolkien|Tolkien]]'s works to German.

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==Biography==

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Wolfgang Krege grew up in Berlin, where he began his philosophy studies at the [[wikipedia:Free University of Berlin|Free University of Berlin]] during the early 1960s. He worked as a lexicon editor, copywriter and reader. Since [[1970]] he worked as a translator for numerous publishing groups, too.

==Translations==

==Translations==

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The first of Tolkien's books Krege translated, was ''[[The Silmarillion]]'' (as ''Das Silmarillion'' [[1978]]). This translation was a great success for him. His next "project" was the new translation of ''[[The Hobbit]]'', to replace [[Walter Scherf]]'s ''Kleiner Hobbit und der große Zauberer'' [[1957]].

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This modern translation was published [[1997]].

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With his knowledge of J.R.R. Tolkien and his works, he wrote the encyclopaedia ''Handbuch der Weisen von Mittelerde'' ("Guide of the wise men of Middle-earth") in [[1996]] and an [[elvish]] dictionary in [[2003]]. Beside his translations of Tolkien's works, he was the translator of books by authors like [[wikipedia:Anthony Burgess|Anthony Burgess]], [[wikipedia:E.Annie Proulx|E. Annie Proulx]], [[wikipedia:Amélie Nothomb|Amélie Nothomb]], [[wikipedia:Joseph Conrad|Joseph Conrad]], [[wikipedia:William Goldman|William Goldman]] and many others.

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The first of Tolkien’s books Krege translated, was ''[[The Silmarillion]]'' (''Das Silmarillion'' [[1978]]). His new translation of ''[[The Hobbit]]'' was published [[1997]] (''Der Hobbit oder Hin und zurück'').

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With his knowledge of J.R.R. Tolkien and his works, he wrote the encyclopaedia ''Handbuch der Weisen von Mittelerde'' in [[1996]] and an [[Elvish]] dictionary, called ''Elbisches Wörterbuch'', in [[2003]].

In [[2000]] his most discussed translation was published, a new German rendering of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', to replace [[Margaret Carroux]]’ earlier translation. Krege tried to render the original language styles into German equivalents and to make the translated text, in his view, more vivid and easier to understand for younger readers. This worked mostly, but major points of critism of his translation were that he used the different language styles in a too inconsistent way and that he chose the German of the early 1990s, including various slang words of this time.<ref>[http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/literatur/0,1518,100975,00.html ''Dalli Dalli in Mittelerde''], critical article about the new translation by Rüdiger Sturm, published [[3 November|November 3]], [[2000]]. (German)</ref>

In [[2000]] his most discussed translation was published, a new german rendering of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', to replace [[Margaret Carroux]]' earlier translation. Krege tried to render the original language style into German equivalents. This worked mostly, but a major point of critique on his translation was his use of modern, early Nineties, German, especially the [[Hobbitish|language of the Hobbits]]. Most of the fans prefer the first translation by [[Margaret Carroux]], but there are a lot of others, who like Wolfgang Krege's modern rendering.

Contents

Biography

Wolfgang Krege grew up in Berlin, where he began his philosophy studies at the Free University of Berlin during the early 1960s. He worked as a lexicon editor, copywriter and reader. Since 1970 he worked as a translator for numerous publishing groups, too.

Translations

The first of Tolkien’s books Krege translated, was The Silmarillion (Das Silmarillion1978). His new translation of The Hobbit was published 1997 (Der Hobbit oder Hin und zurück).

With his knowledge of J.R.R. Tolkien and his works, he wrote the encyclopaedia Handbuch der Weisen von Mittelerde in 1996 and an Elvish dictionary, called Elbisches Wörterbuch, in 2003.

In 2000 his most discussed translation was published, a new German rendering of The Lord of the Rings, to replace Margaret Carroux’ earlier translation. Krege tried to render the original language styles into German equivalents and to make the translated text, in his view, more vivid and easier to understand for younger readers. This worked mostly, but major points of critism of his translation were that he used the different language styles in a too inconsistent way and that he chose the German of the early 1990s, including various slang words of this time.[1]